Any ideas?

[Suki]

NPIP states there is no test at this time to confirm CRD. Do I just wait and see? If it flares up again?
I'm at a loss.

I don't know who told you Gerald, but that is not true.  Serological testing  by agglutination and ELISA methods are commonly used for surveillance & I personally know of many farms that are clean.   Here is a testing schedule from PA Dept of Agriculture, which does receive swabs and stains from other states.  I know all of this as I am a licensed certified poultry tester for the Commonwealth .

http://www.padls.org/images/PADLSFeeSchedule.pdf

P.S. Update there is also a natural method to cure this that you may want to investigate before destroying the flock;  I've never tried it.


http://www.holisticlivestock.com/kocci_free.htm

[Max Strawn]

Most strains of M gallisepticum are sensitive to a number of broad-spectrum antibiotics, including tylosin, tetracyclines, and others but not to penicillins or those that act on the cell wall. Tylosin or tetracyclines have been commonly used to reduce egg transmission or as prophylactic treatment to prevent respiratory disease in broilers and turkeys.

 In valuable breeding stock, treatment of eggs with antibiotics or heat has been used to eliminate egg transmission to progeny. Medication is not a good long-term control method but has been of value in treating individual infected flocks.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/poultry/mycoplasmosis/mycoplasma_gallisepticum_infection_in_poultry.html

Any thoughts on this?? If you could eliminate the egg transmission to the progeny and hatch as many as possible, then cull the breeders, you could possibly eliminate it from your line. Of course it's a gamble, but could be beneficial. I'm not sure I would try it unless my flock were confined and not allowed to free range...

[Mike Gilbert]

Most strains of M gallisepticum are sensitive to a number of broad-spectrum antibiotics, including tylosin, tetracyclines, and others but not to penicillins or those that act on the cell wall. Tylosin or tetracyclines have been commonly used to reduce egg transmission or as prophylactic treatment to prevent respiratory disease in broilers and turkeys.

 In valuable breeding stock, treatment of eggs with antibiotics or heat has been used to eliminate egg transmission to progeny. Medication is not a good long-term control method but has been of value in treating individual infected flocks.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/poultry/mycoplasmosis/mycoplasma_gallisepticum_infection_in_poultry.html

Any thoughts on this?? If you could eliminate the egg transmission to the progeny and hatch as many as possible, then cull the breeders, you could possibly eliminate it from your line. Of course it's a gamble, but could be beneficial. I'm not sure I would try it unless my flock were confined and not allowed to free range...

Whitmore Farms has a way to eliminate the transmission of m.g. in hatching eggs via treating them with antibiotics.   I tried to find the article I read a long time ago on their website, but without success.   You might contact William Morrow, farm manager, for his technique.   Here is a link:   http://www.whitmorefarm.com/content/5063

[Beth Curran]

This sounds promising. Sadly, in some states it wouldn't be possible, since there would be no way to know if it worked without testing the birds and if any test positive, it's reported to the state and you are at their mercy. North Carolina has no clear policy on euthanasia/depopulation, it is left to the investigator's discretion whether you have the option to quarantine and retest until the flock tests clean or put them all down. And without testing, you couldn't ethically show or sell birds or even hatching eggs for fear of putting someone else's flock in jeopardy. Ironic that we have the Atlantic ocean to the east and the state capitol to the west, putting us both literally and figuratively between the devil and the deep blue sea...

[John W Blehm]

I don't know if Gerald's Bird problem was worms, but over the past few decades I've experienced what Royce talked about and agree with Mike that MG/CRD is much more common than the average fancier knows.  Closed "Primary" and "Multiplying" breeding flocks used to produce hybrid meat and egg birds may be clean in North America, but I don't think you would have to look much further to find it.

Salsbury Manual of Poultry Diseases, 7th Edition, page 42...

MG normally presents itself as a chronic respiratory infection.  Mycoplasma gallisepticum can be present in a flock and cause few problems until the birds are exposed to some additional stress.  Conditions which may trigger an outbreak include infectious bronchitis (IB), Newcastle disease (ND), (field exposure or vaccination), E. coli, fowl cholera, infectious coryza, a change in weather, management, or nutrition.

I've talked several times about how a couple days of cold rainy weather would bring on sickness and my reasoning for covering all my outside runs with roofing to keep the birds dry.  Chickens are not waterfowl.

I can email a scan of the pages in my book to any member that wants more info, especially if you plan to do your own necropsy.  You may do as well as many suburbanite vets when it comes to chickens.   

My personal advice is to treasure and breed from any breed quality birds that don't show symptoms.
Dispose of sickly birds that can be replaced.
Nurse the almost irreplaceable birds that show symptoms with Tylan.  Breed from them when they recover.
Keep the government out of it. 
 

[Max Strawn]

I had a lengthy phone conversation yesterday with Will Morrow from Whitmore Farms about the removal of MG and MS from his flocks. He was very helpful and explained why he feels these diseases are so common in backyard hobby and exhibition poultry.

First, some effects of these diseases include slightly stunted growth if the bird shows signs of infection at an early age, and a decrease in egg production by up to 20%.

According to Will, the vast majority of MG and MS infections are spread by human contact. The bacteria can be carried by air molecules or direct contact and stick to your clothes, skin, and hair. It can survive away from a host for 3 to 4 days. You can imagine how easily it could be transmitted to your birds by a judge who handles hundreds of birds at a show, then transmitted to the rest of your flock when you return home.

 The odds of your flock being infected by wild birds is very, very slim. Will has free ranged his flock for 10+ years and continues to be MG and MS free.

If you show, it is recommended not to bring your very best birds. Everything you bring should be sold or given to youth or 4H groups at the end of the show. This way, you are not bringing any diseases home with you. When you return home, disinfect your poultry carriers and equipment if they are stored close to your birds.

I’ve attached a pic sent by Will that explains the process of removing the bacteria from hatching eggs.

[John W Blehm]

Tylosin that is mentioned in your attachment is what the product Tylan, mentioned above, is.  It come in different forms, like Tylan® Soluble (Tylosin tartrate) and many of us use Tylan® Injection (Tylosin) on our mature chickens.

Tylan® (tylosin premix)

Tylan is a therapeutic management tool that helps poultry producers control chronic respiratory disease (CRD) associated with Mycoplasma gallisepticum in broilers and replacement chickens.

[Max Strawn]

Tylan in powder form can be hard to dissolve in water.  Best to dissolve it in a glass with a small amount of water first. I have been using a generic version of Tylan the last few years. Seems to work just as well. You can purchase it here...

https://www.twincitypoultrysupplies.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=449&zenid=0301b19b82e2430678431038819042c4

[Beth Curran]

Max, this is awesome! Please tell Will thanks (I don't know if he reads the forum). Did he by any chance mention the name of the book? I'd love to know what other gems are in it!

[Max Strawn]

He did not. I'll email him and ask.

[Rebecca G Howie]

I grew a lot of Florida Cranberry ( aka.  Roselle Hibiscus, Rosella, Florida Cranberry, Australian Jam Fruit, Jamaican Sorrel) this year and was looking for recipes and more info in the plant use.  It has some proven medicinal qualities.

I ran across this paper - kind of blew me away. Scroll all the way to the bottom and look at Medical

https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/roselle.html

  or just read this quote from article.

Other Uses

The seeds are considered excellent feed for chickens. The residue after oil extraction is valued as cattle feed when available in quantity.   <----- Note, my chix have not developed a taste for them in fresh form, will be drying some soon to try

Medicinal Uses: In India, Africa and Mexico, all above-ground parts of the roselle plant are valued in native medicine. Infusions of the leaves or calyces are regarded as diuretic, cholerectic, febrifugal and hypotensive, decreasing the viscosity of the blood and stimulating intestinal peristalsis. Pharmacognosists in Senegal recommend roselle extract for lowering blood pressure. In 1962, Sharaf confirmed the hypotensive activity of the calyces and found them antispasmodic, anthelmintic and antibacterial as well. In 1964, the aqueous extract was found effective against Ascaris gallinarum in poultry. Three years later, Sharaf and co-workers showed that both the aqueous extract and the coloring matter of the calyces are lethal to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In experiments with domestic fowl, roselle extract decreased the rate of absorption of alcohol and so lessened its effect on the system. In Guatemala, roselle "ade" is a favorite remedy for the aftereffects of drunkenness.

In East Africa, the calyx infusion, called "Sudan tea", is taken to relieve coughs. Roselle juice, with salt, pepper, asafetida and molasses, is taken as a remedy for biliousness.

The heated leaves are applied to cracks in the feet and on boils and ulcers to speed maturation. A lotion made from leaves is used on sores and wounds. The seeds are said to be diuretic and tonic in action and the brownish-yellow seed oil is claimed to heal sores on camels. In India, a decoction of the seeds is given to relieve dysuria, strangury and mild cases of dyspepsia and debility. Brazilians attribute stomachic, emollient and resolutive properties to the bitter roots.

[Max Strawn]

https://books.google.com/books?id=PJ7XFY86HOQC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Scroll down to page 9. It is the same, word for word, as the pic from Will...

[John W Blehm]

https://books.google.com/books?id=PJ7XFY86HOQC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Scroll down to page 9. It is the same, word for word, as the pic from Will...

Good reading.  The big surprise for me was that MG is only passed on to about 1 in 50 eggs/chicks from infected hens.  When I hear that a disease is transmitted or passed thru the egg I had always assumed all eggs/chicks would receive it.

 

[Mike Gilbert]

I received a complimentary copy of Chickens magazine today as a courtesy for furnishing part of an article about best cold weather breeds (Chantecler, sorry).   Anyway, there is an article in the magazine prepared by the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine about the Mycoplasma infections.   It is worth a read, and it confirms that M.G. results in very low mortality, though it can certainly be bothersome what with recurring symptoms.   Low mortality diseases can be worked with to breed in resistance in a line of birds through strict culling.   (Laryngotracheitis, on the other hand, is not one of these and should be vaccinated for if it has been prevalent in a flock or even in the area.)    M.G. is easily spread unless strict biosecurity is practiced, and anyone attending shows may very well bring it home on their shoes or clothes.   Wild birds can carry it and spread it.    M.G. is even spread on dust particles in the air.   Besides these horizontal means of spreading, it can also be spread vertically from hen to chick through the egg.    Bottom line, if I am going to attend shows or bring the occasional breeder bird home, I am going to have to choose breeding for resistance.   I believe it is the way to go.   I believe M.G. was the disease Fred Jeffrey had in mind when he said the poultryman's best friend was the axe.   Let the stoning begin. 

[Tailfeathers]

I don't know if I've posted this before in the Forum or not so if I have forgive me and chalk it up to a rapidly deteriorating memory. 

I believe I probably brought MG into my flock when I got into Barnevelders.  The first couple of years I had them they were constantly sick with runny noses, bubbly eyes, and then the sinus infection would get so bad it caused cottage cheese like kernels to form in their eyes.  Not knowing any better I medicated them.  Started with various tetracyclines, then heard about Tylan, then Denagard.  After 2-3yrs of treating birds and seeing it spread to my other breeds, including Ameraucanas, I read an article in the Poultry Press about culling sick birds and breeding for resistance.  So I culled down to one cockerel and two pullets. 

I don't recall how many but I know I had some sick birds the next year but fewer and hardly any the year after that.  After that it was down to almost zero.  Then none for a few years.  I remember having one Ameraucana pullet 2yrs ago that got MG bad enough that I put her down because it got bad enough to form a cottage cheese kernel in her eye.  I also saw another with just a little bit of a bubbly eye but it never got worse.  Nothing at all last year or this year.  And I just remembered another bird from 2yrs ago.  Don't remember which breed it was now.  For some reason I'm thinking it was a Welsummer but not sure because I've never seen any of my Welsummer get MG.  Can't remember for the life of me what it was now.  Maybe a Buckeye.  Anyways, I remember it got a big lump under one of the eyes so I decided to open it up with a razor blade to see if I could drain it.  Long story short that entire birds head was one big cheeseball inside.  Both sinus cavities were plugged and even the area between the eyes and top of the head.  Ironically, I had just got it's whole head cleaned out when it gave a big squawk, got excited, and keeled over dead.  I think it must've had a heart attack on the operating table just as I was finishing up.  That's when I became convinced that it's not worth trying to save a bird that gets that bad or even let 'em get to that point.

Only other thing I'll pass on is that I do use bleach in the waterers. I think that helps from it getting passed around.

So, all that said, all in all I'm with Mike when it comes to MG except I wouldn't recommend treating a bird unless it was just so absolutely good for some reason that I just had to breed it.  If you get a bird that shows a bad runny nose and gets to the point where their eyes start gluing shut because of the yucky eyes, I'd recommend putting it down.